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 Gaya,
city in northeastern India, in Bihar State, on the Phalgu
River (an affluent of the Ganges). A number of sacred
shrines are located in and near Gaya, notably the Vishnupad
Hindu temple built in 1787, and Buddh Gaya to the south, the
site of the Great Enlightenment of Buddha. The temples are
regularly visited by hundreds of thousands of pilgrims each
year. The city, which became a municipality in 1865, is the
site of Magadh University (1962) and of an archaeological
museum. The principal products manufactured in the city
include metal articles, mats, bamboo baskets, cotton rope,
and jute twine. Population (1991) 291,675.
Bodh Gaya History
The Buddha attained enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree 2500
years ago. A relative of that tree is growing at the same
spot. The Buddha spent six or seven weeks in Bodh Gaya
contemplating the great event! He gave "the two refuges" to
two merchants in Bodh Gaya. Today all Buddhists take the
"three refuges" to the Buddha, the Dharma (his teachings)
and the Sangha (the spiritual community). Those first refuge
seekers only took two refuges because the spiritual
community didn't exist yet.
Later on, maybe around Asoka Maurya's time, a stone fence
was built around the area. Later still the big stupa was
built. Bihar was covered by forests back then, now it is
very flat farmland. People in the area told me that the
British were responsible for clearing the area's forests.
Drought is now a serious recurring problem in the area,
perhaps because of the deforestation.
Bodh Gaya has always received pilgrims, but for a long time,
starting around 1100 or 1200 CE, there were very few indeed,
maybe a few from Burma and that is it. A few hundred years
ago a Hindu Maat set up in Bodh Gaya, and pretty much took
over the town. The Maha Bodhi Society started restoring the
Mahabodhi Stupa in the 1930s. Nowadays there is tension
about whether the temple should be administered by Buddhists
or Hindus. The temple is currently run by a committee with a
Hindu majority. The Hindus say there is a large Shiva Lingam
under the stupa, and that the Buddha is an Avatar of Vishnu.
So they want to use it, too. Many Buddhist think the temple
should be run by Buddhists, and Hindu Shrines should be
removed from the compound. I suspect the solution will take
years to work out, if not decades. For now everyone must
share, and by and large people do so peacefully.
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